More from the People we suport

a Wild goose chase with a happy ending 

Vulnerable Goose...

Two days ago we were called out to Mercia Marina near Willington regarding a Canada goose that seemed to be partially blind. Residents were feeding her as she was being bullied by the other geese and also swans, however on Tuesday evening they became concerned for her welfare when a visiting member of the public decided to kick her, full force into the water. This upset many residents who them decided to call is for help.

When we arrived, the goose was obviously very nervous of people after her experience and took to the water quickly. Once she was in the water we noticed she was swimming around in circles and it was evident she could only see out of her left eye. We threw her some bread which she ate then we made a plan on how to capture her. 

The Rescued Goose

As she was blind in her right eye, we decided to use this to our advantage. We coaxed her out of the water and further onto land with bread. We then approached her from her right side and, before she had time to process what was going on, we managed to grab her. She put up a fight but then gave in.

We took her back to the sanctuary and put her into a paddock with other geese. She should settle into the group and then she will be offered full roam of the main field and pond area.

Goose at the Sanctuary 

as ever donations to support this work can be made here 

Swan in distress

A plea for help form the people we support 

reposted from Facebook 

Urgent Appeal...

***WARNING - GRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPH***

This morning we rescued this young swan from a lake at a water sports club in Draycott, Derby. 

site of rescue

Last night he was involved in a collision with a speed boat on the larger lake at the club. As it was dropping dark the driver of the boat didn't see him as he swam in front of them. As a result he was injured but disappeared into some bushes.

This morning we attended the scene and with the help of several club members and a boat, we managed to locate this poor youngster sitting on the edge of the lake next to brambles and trees. It was obvious he was in a lot of pain as he didn't move even when the boat was near him. Thanks to a kind club member, who waded across in a wet suit and caught him, the young swan was brought to the boat where we secured him in a swan bag until we got back to the docking area.

Rescued swan with mangled wing folded up

We have named this young man Drake. Due to extensive injuries to the right wing, which is both broken and mangled, the next course of action is surgery to remove the damaged portion of the wing. The operation will be done tomorrow once he is stabilised. This will cost in the region of £200 which we hope to be able to raise as it is a lot of money.

If anyone can help please donate funds for his surgery via paypal small_furries06@yahoo.co.uk. 

This poor lad deserves another chance at life and it would be devastating for his life to be over when it barely has begun. He is fighting us despite his condition and didn't want to take his pain relief or antibiotics. According to the people at the location this morning he is the last of five cygnets born on this lake with his siblings mysteriously disappearing along with his parents, so he has been surviving on his own. We plan to pair Drake up with Gracie once he has recovered and we have an offer of a private lake the pair could reside on next year.

Still a baby really hence the grey colouration

Please help if you can, Thankyou.
Lake photo courtesy of Wilne Church Water Sports Club

• Please note that I have not posted the detailed picture of his injuries as to be honest even with the wounds  cleaned up its not pretty even if survivable with the proper care  which Burton Wildlife Rescue will give

Somthing form the people we suport

Bundle Of Bristles...

We received a call today from a couple in the village of Lullington about a family of hedgehogs. The back garden was being tidied up and when they moved a rubbish pile, they were shocked to see a female hedgehog with youngsters. 

After going to the location to assess the situation and speaking with the couple, we decided to take mum and babies as they would no longer be safe and the garden was completely enclosed meaning the food source, which was very limited, would not provide enough nutrition to support all five hedgehogs. 

Mum and all five babies are now in a pen where they will be fed a good quality diet. It is likely that mum will be released soon but the babies will over winter in our heated hedgehog shed whilst they gain weight. All four babies will be released next year as hibernation time is nearly upon the hedgehog population.

If you have a hedgehog visiting your garden you can help them get ready for hibernation by leaving food out. Having a good supply of food such as cat meat or cat biscuits will allow them to gain weight faster therefore allowing them to survive the colder months. Please remember that if you see a hedgehog out in the day, there is usually something wrong. Call your nearest wildlife centre for advice.

 

 Burton Wild life Rescue Here 

More from the People we suport here

Dexter and Angel 

Dexter was raised from very young and is one of the reasons  that visitors are not encouraged at the centre he attacks them, he also attacks the staff  including the one who pretty much hand reared him so its not personal

Snuggled Hedge hog

Assorted Birds playing with the water feature

a friendly hen

Feeding time for the youngsters

Some more images form Burton Wildlife Rescue showing the width of their work an what the funds raised here go towards

I was hoping to find the Picture of the Rescue managers long suffering Staffordshire bull terrier being hen pecked but I cant find that at the moment and the pictures of the same Staffy being lead astray by Zenko the fox are too blurred sadly but they have a great time.

for more on Burton Wildlife Rescue

More foxy pictures - from the people we support

Bingo one of the resident foxes having some after supper fuss,

Because whilst Burton wildlife Rescue aims to treat rehabilitate, rewild, and release when at all possible there are those cases where this is not possible and then the sanctuary provides a permanent  life time home.

 

Supper previously  - Please note the toys and the size of the pen - foxes are rather dog like in their playfulness  and every effort is made to allow them to play even if it does involve them encouraging the sanctuary managers long suffering Staffie to be naughty and we have pictures of that they are just a bit blurred as they where play fighting an chasing each others tails and not staying still enough to photograph easily 

Does my nose look big in this

A rabbit Selfie

one of the resident rabbits at Burton Wildlife Rescue in its run being nosey

Support them please

Release the Foxes

From the People we Support here

Reposted form the Burton Wildlife Face Book page

Release - Fox Cubs Part One...

 

 need to insert video clip

 

Tonight we released four of our fox cubs to a lovely location with woodlands and plenty of food sources. We will not disclose the location due to the safety of the cubs.
This is part one of the video we took as some of the cubs were reluctant to leave the carrier at first.

The first fox cub on this video is a dog fox called Mask. He came in from another rescue as they did not have the facilities to rear and rehabilitate him for release. He wasted no time in getting out of the carrier and he was very interested in his surroundings. We watched him as he disappeared into some bushes.

The second fox cub seen on this video is a vixen called Vixie. She is the cub we are most proud of as when we rescued her she was completely paralysed from the neck down. We told her story about six weeks ago but the short of it is, after lots of hard work, medication, hydrotherapy and physiotherapy, she regained full use of her legs. It was a long process but it was worth it as you see her in the video jump into the undergrowth.

Good Luck Mask and Vixie.

Release - Fox Cubs Part Two...

 need to insert video clip

This is the follow on video from the first one we posted.

The first fox cub to be released on this video is a vixen called Grace. She came in as a three week old baby and was very ill. We treated her for toxoplasmosis as she was observed having a seizure, which was successful. She was also hand reared by ourselves. She was always the wildest of the bunch and very lively. 

The second fox cub is also a vixen and her name is Inara. Again she was brought to us as a very young cub from another rescue who did not have experience hand rearing a cub or the facilities to rehabilitate them back to the wild. She was hand reared with Zenko and Mask by the same member of staff.

Good Luck Inara and Grace. Back to the wild where they belong. :-)

to support Burton Wildlife Rescue go here

From The People we Support

Catch The Pigeon...

The Rescued Pigeons

what happened

Approximately eight weeks ago we rescued a badly injured dove from a lady in Loughborough after it had been shot with an air rifle. The lady owned a horse and it was kept at a yard where a flock of pigeons was residing, the injured pigeon being one of them. Unfortunately the pigeon was too badly injured and lost her fight for life. 

We arranged to take in and offer the remaining birds a home. The lady managed to convince the yard owner to stop the shooting and allow us to capture the remaining birds. We attended two weeks ago to assess the area and come up with a plan, then last night we returned to catch them.

As it was dark the pigeons had gone to roost in the top of the barn which made it easier for us to locate them. Using a ladder we climbed into the hay loft and began by locating nests. There were quite a few babies and eggs including fertile ones. Once we had collected the squabs and fertile eggs we began catching the adults and older youngsters. This involved a lot of team work, with one person catching them using a net and the other using a pole to push them from their perching areas. We managed to catch 31 out of 34 that were roosting, as well as taking 7 babies and 9 fertile eggs. Unfortunately there were a few dead youngsters and adults within the roosting area, some mummified, with one having dried blood on the feathers so we suspect this may be a parent bird that was killed in the shootings previously.

We also took a racer and a very young wood pigeon squab that another lady at the yard had brought so in total we rescued 40 birds. 

We plan to return within the next two weeks to attempt to capture the escapees that evaded us last night and any others that may turn up. The babies will be hand reared as they will most likely be rejected. If anyone can donate any hand rearing formula we would be grateful. We are currently using the kaytee extract formula. 

These pigeons are now safe in a converted shed where they will be confined for at least four weeks. This is so they get used to roosting within the shed, meaning they will return to roost at night. Eventually they will be allowed free flight of the sanctuary along with our other pigeons. We have placed rings into the legs of all the birds with the rescues number so that if they should ever get lost they can always be collected and provided with treatment if needed.

Ringing

flock from a different angle

Thank you to Claire and the pigeon rescue community who donated towards the new shed for these beautiful birds.

Reposted from the Burton Wild life face book feed read more about Burton Wildlife Rescue

A word from the people we support

a sad tale

Family Destroyed...

This beautiful cygnet is Grace. She was hatched by her mother along with two siblings six weeks ago on a pond located in Midway, Swadlincote. Sadly these ponds seem to attract a few yobs and over the past couple years we have been rescuing animals from these ponds that have been injured as a result of appalling behaviour and cruelty.

Today we were called by a lady who regularly keeps an eye on the waterfowl that live on the ponds which include ducks, swans and Canadian geese. She had noticed the little cygnet sitting alone on the grass near to the roadside and when approached she struggled to stand and walk. The parents were nowhere to be seen but when we arrived they had returned back to the cygnet and they were in the water.

It was immediately obvious that the left leg was causing the youngster discomfort. She was holding it up, out of the water, and was struggling to swim and navigate. We lured her to the edge with bread and managed to catch her, much to the dismay of the parents who immediately started to try and attack. We took the little cygnet to the van and placed her into a carrier whilst we talked to the lady who had reported it.

We found out that, according to neighbours in the area, that the two other cygnets had disappeared shortly after being attacked by a gang of youths, armed with catapults and bricks, a week earlier. There was also rumours that they may of been taken by the youths to keep as pets.

Little Grace has a very swollen left leg and extensive scabbing. Given the history of the behaviour of a few individuals, this may of been caused by a brick or slab being launched at the youngster. The cygnet was seen to be well a few days ago and was feeding with her parents. Another heartbreaking moment during this rescue was when her mother followed us to the van, trying to get her baby back. Grace's current condition means she needed to be taken into captivity for treatment and it is unlikely she will see her parents again as it may take her a long while to recover.

It is illegal, under the Wildlife And Countryside Act to take, disturb or intentionally injure a swan and it's family, destroy a nest or harm the young. This applies for other waterfowl too. If you are aware of people taking part in this behaviour, observe them in the act or know of people taking animals from the wild as pets, we strongly recommend you call the local police force immediately on 101 and ask for a wildlife crime officer. If the animal is being attacked or targeted police have the power to intervene and arrest those responsible. 


We will continue to rear Grace and when she is older she will be relocated to a lake with other youngsters. For now she has a teddy to cuddle up to so she can feel safe.

reposted with permission of Burton Wildlife Rescue





And that's why I put adverts on the Blog because treating the cruelties the orc minded inflict on animals still costs money and this is a small independent charity which depends soley on donations to do its work